"You know who that was right?" a stunned voice rang out.

Kara, who was still staring after the mysterious woman she had just met, turned around and was met with a shell-shocked Winn. "Should I?"

A loud snort was his response at that. "Really Kara?" he gasped dramatically, "You don't have the slightest idea?"

She just shrugged helplessly, pushing her glasses further up her nose in the process. "She must be someone important, right?" Kara guessed. "I mean, she looked pretty intimidating."

"Pretty intimidating?" Winn parroted as his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "You just chitchatted with the CEO of the most influential tech company in National City and you had no clue." He slapped his thigh to make his point. "I can't believe you didn't recognise her, I thought that you would at least be familiar with the family of your cousin's archenemy."

The wheels were now turning at rapid speed inside Kara's head. "Wait, was that Lex Luthor's sister?" she exclaimed, causing several employees to look their way.

"The one and only", Winn confirmed, nodding vigorously.

Kara rubbed her forehead in thought. "I didn't know LuthorCorp did business in National City?"

"Well, apparently Lena Luthor decided to move their headquarters away from Metropolis. It's pretty big news, I can't believe it's the first time you hear about it", Winn explained. "If anyone would know what the Luthor's are up to, I would have expected it to be you", he added, greatly gesturing at Kara's chest where the house of El crest was hidden underneath her button up.

"Why would I have a reason to spy on the Luthors?" the blonde spoke, her balled fists now resting on her hips, which made Winn shrink back a bit. "Lex is behind bars. I never held his crimes against the rest of his family. Seems a bit unfair to judge others based on the acts of one single person."

"Just be careful Kara", Winn warned, a hint of concern shining through. "Lena is a literal genius. Some even rumour that she's smarter than Lex. She might be dangerous. You never know if Lex's philosophy has rubbed off on his sister. It's common knowledge that they were always close when they were younger…"

"I get what you're saying", Kara jumped in, cutting off Winn's ramble. "But I won't let some prejudices determine my view on Lena. She seemed nice just now."

"Yeah, Lex was also nice and charming, until it came to aliens", the man snorted. "Look, Lena Luthor is one of the most innovating people currently working in bio-engineering. I would be an idiot if I wasn't impressed by her work…"

"But?" Kara added, sensing he was going to say more.

Winn sighed. "After Lex's trial, she just jumped onto the scene and became LuthorCorp's new CEO. No one knows what she did before that and no one knows what she does when she's not at the office. Her personal life is clouded in mystery or is just simply non-existent. Most people are still trying to figure out where her true loyalties lie and with everything that's going on lately…" his eyes trailed down, turning away from Kara.

"You think she might be involved in the recent attacks on Supergirl?" Kara deduced.

"I don't know Kara!", Winn shouted out as he sharply lifted his head to meet Kara's eyes. The girl jumped slightly at the sudden outburst and Winn buried his face in his hands for a second before he continued with a much smaller voice: "I'm just saying it's a possibility. I would hate to see you, or someone else, get hurt."

The blonde now grabbed Winn's fluttering hands and pried them open to entwine their fingers. "Hey, I'm fine, okay?" she spoke gently. "I promise to be careful."

"It's just… you're my best friend, Kara", he sighed.

"Really?" she smiled softly, glad that Winn had referred to them as friends. She really hoped this meant that they could be friends again after the tension that had erupted when she hadn't returned his feelings.

"The best", Winn grinned and Kara joined him for a moment until she remembered why she had come to Catco in the first place.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he pried, squeezing his friend's hands to show that she could spill her heart out and that he would listen. "Is Adam not alright?"

"So you've heard about that?" Kara grimaced.

"It's all over the news", he frowned, "I'm surprised Miss Grant hasn't called you. She literally collapsed at her desk when the news came through. She's usually so composed, no one's ever seen her break like that."

Glancing towards the office, Kara could see how Cat had now remarked her assistant's presence and was withholding herself from storming over towards her. Kara guessed it probably had something to do with the fact that she wouldn't be able to stand upright at the moment, much like she herself had felt when she was still shocked and dazed.

"I should really go", Kara apologized, letting her hands slip loose from Winn's reassuring grasp.

"Of course", he spoke wholeheartedly while Kara skipped away.

Biting her lower lip, she turned around to address her friend once more. "Thanks, Winn. I'm glad you're my friend."

"Always", he smiled. "Hey, you know what?" he suggested, making Kara scrunch her eyebrows at him. "When Adam gets better, we should have a game night. We all could use the stress relief."

"That sounds great", Kara smiled, walking towards Cat.

000

At the library, Alex was concentrating on the images displayed at the screen in front of her. After the initial restraint from the personnel, they had almost immediately given in as soon as she had flashed her fake FBI credentials.

It really was fun to witness how they unloaded every single piece of information of which they thought it could be useful in her research, at least until she got tired of it and stated that she would only need the video tapes of the last couple of hours and that she would appreciate it if she could watch them alone. The speed with which everyone had bolted out of the room at her words was impressive and Alex doubted that even her sister could have been gone quicker.

So now, she just sat in silence, dissecting every image that flashed by on the screen. Some time had gone by, until Alex recognised the sound of someone entering the room, followed by an all too familiar voice.

"Danvers!" detective Sawyer greeted. "Didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Alex rolled her eyes and groaned before turning her chair around to come face to face with the smuggest member of the NCPD. "Sawyer", she smiled through closed teeth, "Came to join me?"

"Depends", Maggie spoke, jutting her lower lip as she took a seat on the empty chair next to Alex. "Tell me, did you find something interesting yet in those files?"

"What a coincidence you discovered this lead too", Alex responded, neglecting the question. She just preferred to work alone and the sooner she got out of there, the better. But of course, this woman just had to barge in and thwart that perfect plan. "Never pegged you for the artistic type."

"Gee Danvers", Maggie smiled, flashing those dimples again. "And here I thought we had nothing in common."

To Alex's discomfort, the detective came closer and crossed her arms on the table, resting her head on top of them. "So, anything yet?" she asked again, turning her face towards Alex who just gave her a shove to protect some sense of personal space.

"I've scrolled through most of the tapes that have been recorded around the time of the attack", Alex explained. "Nothing has showed up yet, but I still haven't arrived at the exact time point."

Maggie hummed in thought. "Shows that the assassin must have been informed quite well and that it was a deliberate hit. Otherwise he would have shown up to inspect the scenery."

"Right", Alex acknowledged, nodding in agreement. "I just wanted to double-check. It's not that I've had much time before you barged in."

"Barged in?" the detective grinned, raising one eyebrow, "We could make a team, Danvers. Solve this case together."

"Yeah, not going to happen", Alex mumbled under her breath.

"I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch that last part", Maggie teased, "Mind repeating that for me?"

"Let's just continue", Alex scowled, bringing up the tape she hadn't seen yet, "This case won't solve itself."

"If that's a yes to the teamwork, I'll gladly accept it", Maggie smiled mischievously, while Alex decided to ignore any further comments this woman made.

"This should show us our target", she stated, "The other tapes are clean and this takes part about…" she held up the cover to check the time that was written on the back, "About fifteen minutes before the shot was fired."

"Let's get started then", Maggie spoke, rubbing her hands together as she settled back into her seat.

The two women watched the feed in complete and utter silence, fully concentrating on the images that passed on the screen.

"Hey, hold on a second", the detective suddenly interrupted, forcing Alex to press pause. "I think I saw something. Just zoom in on that building over there", she demonstrated the spot with her index finger, touching the screen in the process.

Alex had to bite her lip not to comment on that as she hated greasy finger stains on her devices, but still did as the other woman indicated. Narrowing her eyes, she indeed spotted the shape of a person on one of the rooftops.

"That's definitely our guy, right?" Maggie beamed, proud with her discovery. "It would be a strange coincidence if another person decided to take a walk on the rooftops of National City."

"I think I can make the image clearer", Alex continued, pressing some keys on her laptop, "Maybe we even get a good look at his face."

The two held their breaths as the particular image loaded onto the screen, now fully zoomed in, and when the body of the attacker slowly started to appear.

"See, I knew we would work great together", Maggie smirked.

"No, it can't be", Alex gasped out as she took in the full image in front of her and felt the blood withdrawn from her cheeks.

"Hey, you alright there, Danvers?" Maggie asked, clearly concerned now because Alex had turned as white as a sheet.

"I… I'm sorry, I… This can't be", she stuttered out, "I have to go."

Before Maggie could comment any further on the sudden developments, Alex had already packed all her stuff and had stormed out of the room faster than a lightning bolt, leaving the detective behind who was gaping at her with a mixture of complete confusion and utter bewilderment.

Alex couldn't believe what she had just seen. She didn't want it to be true. Yet, when she was in her car and opened her laptop again, in a hopeless attempt to convince herself otherwise, she was met with the undeniable evidence. Even without a clear image, she would recognise this person everywhere. Those features she was so familiar with now stared back at her, mocking her in all of their unmistakable familiarity. Because the image she had just enlarged, the picture of the person who had attacked her sister and had wounded Adam represented no one other than Jeremiah Danvers.

000

"Please tell me Adam is alright", Cat began as soon as Kara had entered the office.

Kara could tell the woman was trying to hold herself together in front of her employees, but the cracks in her voice betrayed how worried she truly was.

"He's in surgery", she spoke, "They basically shoed me out, told me I didn't need to worry."

Letting out a deep breath, Cat visibly relaxed as she stood up, but she still had to grab ferociously at the corner of her pristine white desk to steady herself, something that didn't go past Kara.

Gently taking Cat's arms, she guided her boss to the couch before sitting down herself.

"They?" Cat questioned after a while, a time which she had used to further school her features into a neutral expression. "I'm guessing you took him to your secret government facility."

When Kara only shrugged, Cat continued: "Please, I'm the Queen of All Media. I saw the images. So I also know that Supergirl appeared on the scene."

"It seemed like the only viable option at the moment", Kara explained, "If I had brought him to the hospital they would have asked questions…"

Cat nodded. The businesswoman knew that the girl was referring to her own state of mind after seeing how Adam got shot. It would have been suspicious to have Supergirl crying over a civilian, especially because assisting the emergency services was something that was daily routine for the heroine.

"I'm just thankful that your powers came back the moment they did", she commented as she took the tumbler of whiskey from the table with shaky hands and poured herself a good amount of the brown liquid.

"This is my fault…", Kara muttered as she stared at her fingers in her lap.

"Were you the one to pull the trigger then?" Cat simply asked, taking a swig of her drink.

"I… Of course not."

"Or were you the one that grabbed Adam to use him as a human shield when that bullet came flying into your direction?"

Kara scrambled uncomfortably in her seat and swallowed. "He was the one who jumped in front of me…" she spoke softly, screwing her eyes shut at the memory. "Why couldn't he just stand back? I would have been fine…"

Placing the empty glass back on the table, Cat squeezed Kara's knee. "You were human, Kara. There was no guaranteeing you would have survived taking that shot. Adam must have realized that", the older woman was now having trouble speaking, her lungs contracting in her chest, but her face didn't give away a single emotion. "I think he would do anything to keep you safe. Love is a strong emotion, it makes people do stupid things, especially when their loved ones are being threatened."

"I just", Kara began, the tears in her eyes visible now and Cat threw her a soft and understanding look. "I just love him so much."

Cat only flashed her a reassuring smile. "He loves you too, you know."

"Gosh, I'm being so selfish", Kara chuckled sardonically. "You're his mother. Yet, here I am, crying on your couch while you are the one who's comforting me."

"Let me remind you that not a single tear has been dropped in this office yet", the businesswoman returned, speechless to respond to Kara's words. Thinking too much about the whole ordeal would fully break her and she couldn't allow that right now. Adam was her son and the possibility of him getting injured was making her sick to her stomach, but Kara, that girl had lost so many people already, that Cat was scared what would happen if she lost yet another person she cared for. "No crying at the office, I won't be the one to break the rule now."

A small, grim smile tugged at the corners of Kara's lips. "I just ran into Lena Luthor in the hallway", she mentioned casually, throwing the conversation back to business. "Should I reschedule?"

"I almost forgot", Cat sighed. "You can call her company and ask them if Lena is free tomorrow at noon. Thank you, Kara."

When their talk was interrupted by the blaring sound of her phone ringing, Kara quickly answered it, knowing that it should be news about Adam, and was greeted with J'onn's deep voice.

"J'onn, how's Adam?" she immediately asked and Cat's head perked up at the sound of that name, her eyes growing wide.

"The operation went fine", J'onn reassured. "There were no further complications. He's at his room now, still unconscious but fine."

"Thank God", Cat let out in relief. The woman was practically sitting on top of Kara by now to hear what the person on the phone was saying.

"I'll be there in a minute", Kara spoke determinedly before switching the call off and turning back to Cat.

"If you're going to ask me if I want to join you to wherever that secret hospital of yours is located, then the answer is no", she said instantly, sensing what was going on in Kara's mind.

"Are you sure?" the girl tried.

"I hate hospitals, in any circumstance and in any capacity", came the curt reply, before the tension seemed to leave Cat's body and her tone became more serious. "I just don't want to be confronted with the realities of some dark government building."

"That's okay", Kara smiled softly, realizing that Cat didn't want to come with because she wouldn't be able to keep her emotions in check at the place. The military equipment and the weighty tension that always seemed to hang in the air at the DEO would make the whole situation look much more serious and worse than it actually was. "I'll let you know if things change", she promised, to which Cat promptly agreed with a small and grateful nod.

"Go", she urged Kara, giving the girl one last squeeze before withdrawing her hand. "I'm sure he'll want you to be there when he wakes up."

The prospect of being reunited with Adam's playful smile and those captivating brown eyes that had come to feel so much like home, fuelled Kara and with one last glance at her boss, the girl left the office as quickly as she could.

000

Standing in the doorway of the medical bay, Kara gasped at the sight of Adam.

The man was lying on the bed, not a scratch on him, making it look as if he was just in a peaceful sleep if it weren't for the several tubes linked to his body and the silent beeping of the monitors next to the bed.

"Hi", Kara whispered, taking one hand of Adam's into her own, carefully threading their fingers together. She shuddered at the cold feeling, but she was quickly reassured by the sound beating of his heart that reached her ears and by the further proof on the machines that monitored Adam's vitals.

"I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere." Kara wanted to be there, needed to be there, Supergirl emergencies be damned. The city had survived in her absence, it would manage to hold its own for a little while more.

Slowly, she brought the hand she was holding towards her mouth and kissed his knuckles gently, a tear escaping from the corner of her eye, making its way down her cheek. Adam still gave no sign of waking up any time soon, but just the fact that he was there with her and that she could witness the soft and equalized sound of him repeatedly inhaling and exhaling again was enough to put her mind at ease.

The state he was in, his whole body lying relaxed on the bed, formed such a huge contrast with the sight only a few hours prior.

Kara knew she would never be able to forget how there was so much blood coming out of his chest and she drew her lower lip between her teeth when thinking back to the way his body had been wheezing under the pressure, ready to give in to eternal darkness while she could only watch as Adam slipped further and further away from her with every passing second.

Now at least, she had the certainty that everything would be fine, even if she was desperately counting down to the time those brown eyes would flutter open.

"What the hell is going on here?" a loud and bellowing voice rang out from the hallway and Kara dropped Adam's hand in shock.

As Adam's hand dangled from the bedside, Lucy Lane was gazing at the scene with a mixture of anger and confusion.

"Why do we have a civilian at our supposed to be secret division and what is Supergirl doing next to him, crying no less", she yelled out, searching for answers as the whole setting had left her terribly in the dark.

"Lucy, I can explain", Kara tried as she stood up, unknowingly taking a protective stance and shielding Adam's body from the agent's sight. Fully aware that there was no way out of this, she could only stand in complete silence, waiting for the inevitable.

J'onn, who had heard the commotion and had entered the room as well, witnessed the staring contest between the two women with a stark expression on his face. "Agent Lane", he spoke authoritatively, "Would you care to elaborate what this is all about?"

The youngest Lane didn't address her superior, keeping her eyes forcefully on Supergirl instead as she even took a step closer towards the hero.

Despite the woman's much smaller posture, Kara could feel her body shrinking by the conspicuous and intimidating glare that was directed her way.

"I was just wondering why Supergirl over here would bring a civilian into this facility." There were a lot more questions racing through her mind, but Lucy decided to settle on that one first. "Or why she seems to be so upset about this situation, let alone the clear sight that this man has received medical treatment here."

"Everything that happens at the DEO, happens on my watch", J'onn answered curtly, hopelessly trying to salvage the situation.

"Wait", Lucy gasped as she took a good look at the man lying on the bed, "Is that Adam?"

The silence that fell upon the room was deafening and one could almost feel the tension between the three people in the room escalating.

Lucy's eyes kept flashing frantically between Adam and Supergirl, her scrutinizing gaze taking in every detail: from the discomforted state the hero appeared to be in, to the tears that marred her face because of her concern about Adam and the crinkle between her brow that fully put the small scar above her left eyebrow on display.

An outsider would have been able to pinpoint the exact moment on which she finally gathered the separate pieces together and Lucy's face morphed from one of puzzlement into bitter realization.

"K-Kara?"

I just wanted to get this one out there so this is quickly edited for now and if there are still mistakes they are my own.

Let me now if you have any suggestions :)